Standard Chartered launches USDC minting with Circle, Erebor Bank targets $8B valuation, Securitize goes public on NYSE, but tokenized RWA adoption remains limited outside U.S. Treasuries.
Regulation & Gov ·
Standard Chartered has partnered with Circle to launch USDC minting and redemption services, marking the first time a global systemically important bank has directly supported stablecoin issuance. The move signals institutional embrace of on-chain dollar infrastructure, though broader tokenized asset adoption faces headwinds. Erebor Bank, positioned as crypto-friendly, is seeking a $8 billion valuation in a new funding round, while Securitize began trading on the NYSE, adding to infrastructure for digital securities.
Yet the underlying ecosystem shows significant maturity gaps. According to a recent report, 56% of tokenized real-world assets display no weekly on-chain activity, indicating limited utility or adoption across most asset classes. Only U.S. Treasuries have reached what the report characterizes as production grade, suggesting that outside government debt instruments, tokenized RWA markets remain nascent and fragmented.
The divergence between institutional investment and actual on-chain usage raises questions about whether tokenization's promise will extend beyond a narrow set of assets. The recent product launches reflect infrastructure readiness rather than proven demand, leaving unclear whether broader RWA tokenization will gain traction or remain concentrated in specific use cases.